Raw sewage was released into England’s rivers and seas for a high 3.61 million hours last year as Labour calls the new figures “disgraceful”.
Data released by the Environment Agency shows that, while the number of sewage spills by water companies was down slightly, each spill lasted longer on average.
The total duration of spills was 3.6 million hours, up a slight 0.2 per cent from 2023. These two years are the first that every single site was recorded.
While spillage is not necessarily illegal, it is only meant to be done in exceptional circumstances when the sewerage system is at risk of being overwhelmed due to factors like excessive rainfall.
In August 2024, regulator Ofwat issued a record £168m combined fines to Thames, Yorkshire and Northumbrian Water.
Industry body Water UK has previously apologised for the amount of spills in the country and is investing £104bn over the next five years to combat the issue.
Environment secretary Steve Reed said: “These figures are disgraceful and are a stark reminder of how years of underinvestment have led to water companies discharging unacceptable levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes, and seas.”
According to the figures, the site with the longest duration of spills was located in the coastal village Salcombe Regis, at a massive 8,772 hours and 30 minutes. Located in east Devon, the receiving body of water is the Salcombe Regis stream, which feeds into the sea on the south coast.
However, South West Water, which manages the site, says that it is investigating the cause of this. The water utility company adds that it is aware of several unauthorised connections to the sewer network that are contributing to the high level of additional flows. This includes highway road gullies with extensive road run-off.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: “This has to be the final nail in the coffin for Ofwat, a regulator that has time and again proven it is completely inadequate to protect customers and our beautiful environment.
“The government should act now to get a new regulator in place to protect British rivers and seas from being pumped with disgusting sewage. It’s time for Ofwat to go.
“The Liberal Democrats have spearheaded the campaign to protect our rivers and beaches, and we will continue to fight for much tougher regulation of a water industry which is profiting from pollution.”
Lena Swedlow, campaign manager for “Our Water Our Way” at Compass, who is working with river groups to challenge decision making at crisis-hit Thames Water, said: “People are rightly outraged at the state of sewage dumping while our bills rise by an average of 40 per cent. The root of this anger and the root of this problem are the same – the public don’t get a seat at the table.”
“Take Thames Water. It has seen a staggering increase in raw sewage, yet the company is trying to wriggle out of fines, whilst loading up with even more debt and raising bills for the 16 million people it serves. We can't go on like this – we need public ownership.”
“Giving people a real say, from workers to bill payers to water experts, is how other countries operate. It’s our water, it should be our way."
Conservation charity River Action’s chief executive James Wallace described the numbers as “staggering”, saying they equated to 412 years of sewage polluting the country’s rivers, lakes and seas.
“Rather than fixing leaky pipes and investing in infrastructure, these companies have treated our rivers and coastlines like an open sewer, and regulators have let them get away with it,” he said, calling for “real reform” of the sector.
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